Rhapsody in Rivets
Rhapsody in Rivets is a 1941 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed in by Friz Freleng, and produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. It is the first Warner Bros cartoon to feature the "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" by Franz Liszt. It has no dialogue. The cartoon was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1942 alongside another Warner Bros. production by Freleng, Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt, but both lost to Walt Disney's Lend a Paw. Plot At a busy urban construction site in a world of anthropomorphic animals, an appreciative crowd of gawkers watches the foreman (a caricature of the conductor Leopold Stokowski) use the building plans as his score and conduct the workmen in Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, a symphony of riveting, hammering, sawing, and more. Elevators, picks, shovels, and a steam shovel are instruments in music making and construction. As the clock nears 5:00 PM, the crew works furiously, and the building rises around the clouds. With a flag planted at the top and the work completed, the foreman takes a bow. One of the workers, while leaving, slams the door shut behind him; due to this and the overly hurried construction, the building (labeled the "Umpire State") comes crashing down. The foreman attempts to attack the worker in retaliation, but three bricks hit him on the head for the last three notes, ending the rhapsody and the cartoon. Cast Production Development Release Reception Gallery Availability *Laserdisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 1, Side 6: Friz Freleng *VHS - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 6: Friz Freleng *DVD - Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection *Blu-Ray, DVD - Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3 Trivia Notes *It was reissued two times; once in 1947 (evident of the closing card) and again in 1955. *This short was one of two shorts that originally credited Schlesinger that was reissued in the 1954-55 season, the other short being "The Trial of Mr. Wolf". *Though this short has no dialogue, the Blue Ribbon ending card is still replaced by the 1947-48 Turner "dubbed" card in the 1995 American and European Turner prints. Censorship Errors Production Notes References External Links * Category:Merrie Melodies shorts Category:Merrie Melodies Category:Blue Ribbon Category:Blue Ribbon shorts Category:One-shot shorts Category:One-shots Category:One-shot films Category:Directed by Friz Freleng Category:1940s shorts Category:1940s films Category:1940s Category:Story by Melvin Millar Category:Written by Melvin Millar Category:Animated by Gil Turner Category:Animation by Gil Turner Category:Music by Carl Stalling Category:Musical Direction by Carl Stalling Category:Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling Category:1941 films Category:1941 shorts Category:1941 Category:Academy Award nominated films Category:Best Short Academy Award nominees Category:Academy Award nominees Category:Leon Schlesinger Studios Category:Produced by Leon Schlesinger Category:Leon Schlesinger Productions Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng Category:Cartoons written by Melvin Millar Category:Cartoons animated by Gil Turner Category:Cartoons with music by Carl Stalling Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling Category:Music by Carl W. Stalling Category:Film Editing by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with sound effects by Treg Brown Category:Looney Tunes Category:Looney Tunes shorts Category:Warner Bros. shorts Category:Shorts Category:Animated shorts Category:Films Category:Vitaphone short films Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons Category:Warner Bros. Animation Category:One-shots shorts Category:One-shot cartoons Category:One-Shot cartoons Category:One shots